NEW FRACKING RULES: Maryland environmental officials proposed new regulations Monday to govern the controversial gas-extraction method known as fracking, saying they expect to finalize the rules by the end of the year, writes Josh Hicks of the Post. State Environment Secretary Ben H. Grumbles called the guidelines “the most stringent and protective regulations in the country” for the drilling technique, technically called hydraulic fracturing.
LOWER SAT SCORES: Maryland’s graduating seniors scored lower as a group on the SAT than any class in the past 20 years and also scored below the national average, according to results being released Tuesday. But a top state education official downplayed the significance of the decline, Liz Bowie and Pamela Wood of the Sun report.